US Parliament Passes Bill To Deport Illegal Immigrants
The United States’ Congress has passed a bill that will enable federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants charged with minor crimes.
With the bill, such illegal immigrants risk deportation.
The Laken Riley Act was named after a 22-year-old nursing student, who was killed last year in Georgia by Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan migrant, who crossed into the US illegally.
Ibarra was said to have been previously arrested and charged with shoplifting but was not detained.
In November, he was later sentenced to life in prison without parole for Riley’s murder.
A Republican representative who sponsored the Act, Mike Collins, said every part of their system failed Laken that day.
The bill passed on Tuesday, just days into the new session of Congress, setting the tone for President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitious policy agenda targeting reduced immigration.
Recall that Trump has repeatedly vowed to undertake mass deportation soon after he takes office on January 20.
The Laken Riley Act got the support of 48 Democrats and all Republicans.
The bill cleared the house on a 252-157 vote.
An expanded list of crimes that the bill penalizes includes burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.
Meanwhile, Democrat critics argued that the new category is too broad and could result in innocent people being thrown into detention.
